Operation Desert Storm in Pictures

On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces invaded neighboring Kuwait, initiating the Gulf War. Within days, a buildup of American forces began in Saudi Arabia and U.S. officials pressured Iraq to withdraw from the country. Pictured: An Iraqi man reads the newspaper in Baghdad, Jan. 11, 1991.

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On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces invaded neighboring Kuwait, initiating the Gulf War. Within days, a buildup of American forces began in Saudi Arabia and U.S. officials pressured Iraq to withdraw from the country. Pictured: An Iraqi man reads the newspaper in Baghdad, Jan. 11, 1991.

Laurent Van der Stockt/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Protesters chant in a pro-Iraqi demonstration in Pakistan, Jan. 14, 1991. The group is protesting against the deadline set by UN Resolution 678 for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait by the 15th of January.

After talks failed, U.S. and coalition warplanes attacked Baghdad and other military targets. Pictured: The sky above Baghdad is lit up with tracer fire during the first attack on the city, Jan. 17, 1991.

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Soldiers, hotel workers and others, some wearing gas masks, kneel for morning prayers on Jan. 18, 1991 in a basement used as a bomb shelter at a hotel in eastern Saudi Arabia.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

U.S. Army Military Police guard their checkpoint along a convoy route in the Saudi desert, Jan. 20, 1991. The MP's said they wrote the name of their favorite record album on the cinder block wall.

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An Iraqi man walks past a milk factory in a Baghdad suburb that was severely damaged in a U.S. air attack, Jan. 21, 1991.

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A U.S. soldier and Saudi police officers examine the wreck of a missile, believed to be a Soviet-made Scud, which landed in downtown Riyadh on Jan. 22, 1991 when Iraq launched a missile attack on the Saudi capital.

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Rescuers check a site near Tel Aviv after it was hit by an Iraqi Scud missile, Jan. 24, 1991. During the Gulf War, Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles on Israel but none had chemical or biological warheads. Most fell in the Tel Aviv region, causing widespread damage and injuring hundreds.

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A U.S. C-130 transport plane passes over two batteries of the U.S.-made Patriot missiles during sunset, Jan. 25, 1991 in the Saudi Arabian desert.

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Howitzers and vehicles from the U.S. 1st Armored Division cross a desert heavily marked by tire treads, Feb. 5, 1991.

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President George H.W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, and Vice President Dan Quayle enter the Rose Garden at the White House to speak, Feb. 11, 1991, in Washington, D.C.

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An Israeli father holds his two daughters as they escape the Tel Aviv region where an Iraqi Scud missile landed, Feb. 12, 1991.

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A man cycles past a huge mural of Saddam Hussein on the corner of a square in Baghdad during the Gulf War, Feb. 17, 1991.

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Two young girls play in the rubble of a residential area bombed by Allied forces, Feb. 19, 1991.

A vehicle with two coffins on its roof draped in blankets speeds past an electric power plant bombed by the Allied forces in Baghdad during the Gulf War, Feb. 25, 1991.

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American soldiers pose for a photo next to a painting of Saddam Hussein in Salman Pak, Iraq, Feb. 26, 1991.

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U.S. soldiers raise a flag while standing on a destroyed Iraqi tank in Iraq, Feb. 27, 1991.

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A Kuwait City resident hugs two members of the U.S. Marine's special forces after Allied troops liberated the capital of Kuwait, Feb. 27, 1991.

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American soldiers are pictured around a destroyed banner depicting Saddam Hussein in Kuwait after the Iraqi occupation, Feb. 28, 1991.

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Ken Kozakiewicz breaks down in an evacuation helicopter after hearing that his friend, the driver of his Bradley Fighting Vehicle, was killed in a "friendly fire" incident that he himself survived, Feb. 27, 1991. The following day, President Bush suspended offensive combat and declared that Kuwait had been liberated.

David Turnley/Corbis

Burning oil wells shoot flames and smoke into the air in a Kuwait oil field on March 3, 1991. Hundreds of wells were set on fire by Iraqi forces as they retreated from the area.